Have you had a foodborne illness (food poisoning)? WE NEED YOUR HELP to locate cases and causes of foodborne illnesses in our area. Please complete our short questionnaire or call 1-800-4PD-HELP if you believe that you have become ill due to something you ate or drank. You may be contacted for follow-up if more information is needed.  NOT ALL submissions will be contacted.

What is foodborne illness? 

• Foodborne illness is caused by consuming foods or beverages contaminated with illness-causing bacteria, viruses, parasites or toxins.

• Other illnesses are poisonings, caused by harmful toxins or chemicals that have contaminated food, for example, poisonous mushrooms.

• These different illnesses have many different symptoms.  There is no one "syndrome" (a group of symptoms that collectively characterize a disease) that is foodborne illness.

• The microbe or toxin enters the body through the gastrointestinal tract and often causes the first symptoms there.  Therefore, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea are common symptoms in many foodborne illnesses.
  

Links for more information on foodborne illness

General Information About Foodborne Infections from the CDC

FDA Recalls and Safety Alerts

Steps to Prevent Foodborne Illness from Georgia Public Health

Georgia Public Health -- Product Recalls

Tools for Foodborne Illness Surveillence